Different
by protectingyou
Summary: My life wasn't always like this. I used to laugh at the dinner table with my family, or talk about boys with my friends...Before the virus, I was normal. vampire fic SasuSaku
1. creatures

**A/N**: Dedicated to one of my best friends, Selina, for being as much of a vampire fan as I am. Miss you, girl. :)

How I came up with this story? I have absolutely no idea, haha. It just…happened? Yeah. Let's go with that.

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Chapter One  
_creatures_

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I cannot remember the last time I saw someone smile; so it surprised me to see this little girl, who I had just saved, do so. She probably didn't know about the danger of Konoha yet. It was strange; she should have noticed why we fight the creatures.

We all live in fear of them, the creatures. They used to be part of Konoha, normal citizens like everyone else. Until the great disaster, caused by Orochimaru himself. He wanted to create a new species, one that was ten times as strong as normal ninjas, who didn't have to sleep and eat.

But of course, he couldn't create it. His experimental dosage exploded his underground hideout, and everyone within 200 miles was infected with the disease. But this isn't some normal disease that can be treated normally; it transformed people completely.

Those who were infected passed it on to others without realizing it. It takes about two hours for the virus to take over the body, so people who were in contact with the infected got it by just breathing the same air.

The creatures, as we call them, _did _become what Orochimaru wanted, in a way. But there was a side effect; the creatures went crazy, losing there minds and becoming blood-thirsty. They also became known as _vampires_.

The world lost two thirds of its population. Konoha lost more than half of its population. Those of us who were able to fight the disease now protect the survivors. They fear us, of coarse, and I understand why. We fought off the virus, but we still had some of the side-effects; we have the strength of the creatures, some can't come out in the daytime, and some even hungered for blood, but didn't go crazy.

I was one of the lucky ones; the only thing that changed was my strength, my body stronger than other ninja, strengthening my five senses. I became the captain of those like me, leading them to fight the vampires who attacked our village. Every day, it was a battle to survive.

There are some vampires who did not go completely out of their minds, and they became the 'rulers' of the lesser vampires. We don't know much about them; they rule in secret, hiding away from the world.

It was…_terrifying _at first, having to kill all those people, and just because they were vampires. But when they went crazy, they forgot all about human needs; only the one thing they needed running through their minds. The need for blood. And all other thoughts were lost in the process. It didn't matter if we they were your family; you were nothing but food to them.

As I walked through the streets, I looked straight ahead. The villagers were all looking out their windows, hiding as soon as we passed by. Sometimes it wasn't so lucky to have fought off the virus, because we didn't fit in anywhere. We were too sane for the vampires, but too different to be human.

It was almost…lonely.

A scream caught our attention. We headed quickly to its location, sensing for their presence. I smelled something, something familiar. "Blood…" The others nodded, also smelling what I did. We stopped in front of the entrance to our side of the village, the section where we kept everyone safe. As soon as I saw the two bodies lying on the ground, I knew something was wrong. To be able to kill one of us this easily, it had to be one of the elite vampires. I whirl around quickly, locating the intruder.

He had blood dripping from his hands. This really was an elite vampire, because he didn't attack us instantly; he just smirked at us. He eyed each one of us, probably checking to see if we'd be any match for him. One of my teammates, Neji, growled; this vampire was making _fun _of us. He looked to be around my age, with dark, almost blue spiky hair, and dark eyes. Typical, for an elite vampire to look inhumanly gorgeous. The strange thing was that he was wearing normal, _clean _ninja clothes, without any blood stains on them.

Neji went after him first, aiming for his neck, but he was thrown to the ground in a quick blurred movement. In less than a second, the creature was punning him down by the neck. This couldn't be happening; Neji was the strongest out of all of us, besides me, but still. This vampire had him down in less than a second. Maybe he wasn't just _any _normal vampire.

I flicked my finger forward slightly, and two more of my own attack him. Naruto and Shikamaru aim at his neck too, but it doesn't work. They're both thrown against a stone building, _two blocks away_. The rest of my team launch themselves at him, but it didn't seem to work, either. He takes care of them easily, using his sword, his katana, to slice through some of them.

I glare at him; in these past three years, we had never seen a vampire this strong. I try to keep my eyes on him as he moved closer to me, but it was futile. He was in front of me before I felt his katana slice through my stomach. He smirked again, and said, "It seems I've won. And here I thought, I'd find someone worth fighting. All the brothers talk about you and your team, saying it's the best, but I have proved otherwise. You hybrids don't know _anything_."

Was this guy trying to get me even more pissed off? It felt strange, to feel like this; I'd almost forgotten what rage felt like. I wasn't going to let this guy think we were so easy to defeat, so I grabbed hold of the katana, which was still through my stomach. I smirked back at him. "You've underestimated us, _vampire_." And I pulled hard on it, pulling it out of my stomach. I winced at the slight pain, blood covering my hands. I jumped back quickly, preparing myself to fight. He wasn't getting away with this humiliation.

I lunged at him, going straight for his katana, but he sees me coming and moves out of the way. Then he slammed me against the wall, pinning me with one of his hands. I try to pull away with all my strength_. Damn him! _I can't get away.

With his other hand he lifted up my chin roughly, looking straight at me. He chuckled darkly and said, "You have…such a nice face. Different from any that _I've _ever seen. And your hair…quite unique." Then, he kissed me, before it registered inside my head what just happened. I stayed stunned for a while, momentarily frozen in place.

I growled at him menacingly. _A vampire did not just __**kiss **__me! _Wait, what? I touched my stomach, wondering why I didn't feel any pain, and my eyes grow wide. "You…healed me. Why?" My wound wasn't there anymore; it was like it never happened.

"I don't want you dead, not yet." He shrugs. "Besides, there's something…_interesting _about you, I can't quite place it. Ah well, we'll leave it at that." He looked at me again, and I become paralyzed. And _damn _their ability to do that!

"Who _are _you?"

"Uchiha Sasuke." He smirked at me again. "I'll be back again, Haruno Sakura." With that said, he disappeared.

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**A/N**: Revised June 22, 2010. It's…been a while, hasn't it?


	2. touching

Chapter Two**  
**_touching_

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My teammates were wounded, every single one, which meant that now I had to protect them as well. At the moment, I am standing in front of the lookout house, where that elite vampire had defeated us so easily, remembering his words.

He had said he would be back. It didn't sound good, but what caught my attention was the thing he had said _after _that. My name, _how did he know my name_? Sure, vampires across the land knew of us, but not our names. We kept those secret, even to the villagers. In times like these, humans couldn't be trusted; after all, we were different from them. _No matter how much we wish we weren't._

I turn around, kunai posed in hand, only centimeters away from the new intruder's face. When I saw who it was, my hand went down, and I smiled slightly. "Hey." This was the only person who could still make me smile. One of the few who I knew I could trust.

He only smirked, and repeated my greeting. His eyes stared out across the wrecked village, the dark lines around his eyes wider than usual.

"Did you bring anyone back, Gaara?" When the Great Disaster happened, Sunagakure had been affected even worse than Konoha. The whole village was invaded; only about two dozen children were able to get out, Gaara and his siblings leading them to Konoha.

It seems children are more immune to the virus. When they arrived here, Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro had ended up like me and my teammates. We let them stay with us; the children stayed with the villagers.

Even after three years, we still search for survivors. And this time, Gaara's team had been sent out. But how Gaara had just sighed right now, the possibility of there being any more survivors was slim.

This was troubling; there were few villagers, two hundred at most, and they were dying. How much longer were they going to last? Humans needed food and water, and we barely had any of that. Another mission had to be carried out for those supplies, and I had to go; the others were still healing.

Us, on the other hand, didn't need food or water anymore; we could eat and drink, but it wasn't necessary to do so for long periods of time. Most of us can go weeks without food and still be as healthy as always. We try not to take from the little amounts that the villagers have.

Gaara looked around, sniffing at the air. "One of ours…died." He said it as a statement, not a question. I nod. One of our guards had not been lucky, and the Uchiha had killed him. "Hm…We found a woman and her small child, a few miles from here, and they were glad to come with us."

"And where are they?"

He looked back at me, then at the night sky. "Dead."

"What happened?" It was strange; if that woman had been able to hide for so long with her child, then there could only be one explanation for that.

"She seemed like a human; smelled like it too, so we brought her back. And just outside the village walls, Temari almost lost her hand."

"Did the woman attack her?"

He shook his head. "The child, he wasn't human. I found it odd that she kept him bundled up all the time, never showing him to us, and it became clear why. She had given birth to a creature."

"Ah…What happened to the mother?"

"Her son attacked Temari, but she got out of the way just in time, and he turned around, to his mother." A picture formed inside my head, a certain memory returning from the depths of my mind. I knew perfectly well what he was going to say next.

"He bit right into her neck; ripped off half of it. There was nothing we could do for her; she was already dead. After we killed the kid, we came back. The only other human we found is being treated right now. Apparently he fell off a cliff while being pursued by the creatures."

We stood in silence. This was bad; only one surviving human was rescued. Five less than last time. Every time we went to look for survivors, we brought back less and less. "The villagers are running low on food and water; we have to go search for more."

"Where are the others?"

"Healing. An elite vampire came yesterday; wounded every single one of them. They'll be back to normal by the time we come back." I looked up at the slowly lighting sky, the night stars disappearing and the sun barely starting to reveal its first rays. "Shall we go? We must return by sunset." If we didn't, we would surely die; most vampires came out at night, and we would most likely be ambushed and killed. Fear of the dark grew to a whole new level.

We set off, only after Temari and Kankuro appeared to take over our post. Now that they were watching over the villagers, I knew that if an elite vampire came along, they wouldn't stand a chance. Not if it was as strong as the one from yesterday.

Leaping from tree to tree, we quickly located a spring, where we filled up the few containers we had with water. I was carrying the backpack with the containers in it, and it slowed me down a little. Now we just needed to get food.

It always sounded easy, but it's far from it; we'll have to go inside Suna, where there were hundreds of creatures. It was the only place left with edible food, after we got every last amount out of Konoha's emergency supply. We stayed quiet; although the streets seemed completely empty, a creature could come out of nowhere at any given time.

It was…_odd_; not a single vampire in sight. The only thing that showed that this place was crawling with them was the blood spatters on the walls, the too empty streets. But it was way too quiet, even for them. Gaara felt it too; that strange edginess we felt whenever something didn't seem right. We were almost to the food storage when I saw movement to our left.

Gaara instantly looked left, ready to fight off the creature, but stopped halfway, and so did I. This was unbelievable; there were seriously _hundreds _of vampires, coming out of everywhere, and within seconds, we were surrounded.

Gaara cursed under his breath, pissed off that he hadn't sensed them before. We were in a tough position; it was either fight and, most likely, die. Or run and have more villagers starve to death. I sighed inwardly; decisions like these really got on my nerves sometimes.

I was ready to fight, and the creatures were closing in, when all of a sudden, they stopped. It was almost scarier than when they had first appeared. They started moving back again slowly, retreating to there hiding spots, some burning slightly from the few rays of light that shown through the buildings. What was going on? First they were advancing on us, and now they were just going to leave? Weren't they hungry? Unless…there was a stronger vampire here. Lowly vampires like these cowered in fear of the higher, more sane vampires.

"This was unexpected. What brings you here, Sakura?"

Damn, I really hated it when I was right. Gaara and I looked up, where Uchiha was stood on top of an overhanging pole. He jumped off casually, landing a few feet away from us silently. _Hmph, what a show-off. _As if he'd read my mind, he smirked at me. "It's impolite not to answer someone's question, Sakura."

Gaara didn't turn completely to look at me, but his words were directed my way. "Do you know him?" His voice was slow and calm, a sign that he was surprised, but wasn't showing it.

I shook my head. "This is the elite vampire who attacked us yesterday. And, apparently, he isn't affected by sunlight."

"Ah, that's where you're wrong. Today is partially cloudy, and the sun isn't as bright as usual, so I am able to come out during the day."

Gaara scowled. "And why are you telling us this? Vampires don't go out and give away their weaknesses."

"True, but it's different this time. If she had not brought you along, I wouldn't keep most of my secrets from you."

I frowned at him. What the _hell _was he talking about? "You're saying that if I had come alone, you would've told me everything I wanted to know? About vampires?"

He stayed quiet, starring at me. After a while, I grew impatient. I was about to say something, when Gaara growled and I felt myself pinned against the wall. My reputation was going down hill, and fast. This vampire had captured me for the second time in less than twenty-four hours. Gaara couldn't do anything; Uchiha had paralyzed him.

I glared angrily at him, daring him to do anything stupid, _see what happens_.

Humor flashed darkly in his eyes, gone so fast I wonder if I had just imagined it. He didn't do anything for what seemed like a lifetime to me, and I was hoping he'd let me go, but luck wasn't on my side. Luck was never on my side when it came to this vampire.

He lifted both my arms over my head, holding them with only one of his, the other reaching for my face. I tried biting his hand, but he snatched it away easily, a mocking half-smile on his face. _Damn it, damn it, damn it! _He was making fun of me, _again_. He reached out once more, this time too quick for me to hurt him. Why didn't he just kill me, or at _least _hurt me? He'd done that so easily with the others, so why not with me? "Why are you _doing _this?" My voice came out lower than I had intended it to. It made me sound like a child.

He looked at me questioningly for a second, before saying, "Oh, you mean why do I hold you here, while I _could _just kill you? Hm…there must be a reason for that, but I'm not so sure what it is. All I know is that one touch from you, and I can't stay away. It's like you've cast some sort of spell on me, Sakura."

Well, this was weird. It wasn't the answer I had expected. "How do you know my name?"

"The same way I know you won't forget this." He started leaning his face forward, awfully close to mine now, and I growled. He smirked again. "Such an impatient girl." Before I knew what was going on, I felt a sharp pain on the back of my neck, and I heard Gaara yell my name. My eyes started to close, before I slumped forward limply.


	3. screams

Chapter Three  
_screams_

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In my dream, someone was carrying me lightly in their arms. I couldn't see his face, but I knew it was someone I should fear. Even so, I let him carry me to whatever place we were going, and all I could do was dazedly look up at him.

When he first noticed I was starring, he only smiled crookedly at me and said something. I don't know what he said; my head hurt, which was strange. I rarely ever felt pain, so why did my head hurt?

Whoever was carrying me flashed a worried look in my direction when I didn't respond, but it disappeared as soon as it came, replaced by an uneven smile that made me feel tingly inside, something I hadn't felt in years. Anything can happen in a dream, I told myself. But this was a really strange one; in all the dreams I've had, it always involved the creatures. Besides, I seldom dreamt, or slept, at all.

We must have been traveling for hours, because we came upon an opening on the side of the road, something found only near mountain sides. Then, everything went completely black, and I felt myself panic. I could see in the dark, so why couldn't I see anything right now? Even worse, I heard screaming. Screams filled with terror, the kind of terror that could only be heard when someone was dying. Or being killed. This was no dream; this was a nightmare. My heart beat faster. The only other time I ever felt this scared was when the creatures first appeared, and we had to kill all those people.

The person carrying me must have noticed how scared I was; his hold on me tightened, and he pressed my face against his neck gently. At least now I wouldn't notice the darkness. I must have been shaking too, because he whispered something in my ear. Again, I couldn't hear what he said, but his voice was soothing, and I felt myself relax, then fall into a deep sleep.

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My eyes shot open, and I sat up quickly. Too quickly; my surroundings spun for a few seconds, before I could finally see normally. I looked around; this place, it was just like in my dream. The walls were rough rock, indicating I was inside some kind of cave, and I was lying on what seemed to be someone's shirt thrown on the floor. The dream I had, _was _it really a dream? It felt so real, the screams especially. I shivered, remembering the screams.

"Are you cold?"

I whipped around, impulsively reaching down to grab a kunai. But they were gone; every single kunai I had on me, even the ones that were hidden, were gone. "Uchiha, where the hell are we? And _why _did you bring me here?"

He smirked at me, that same look he always seemed to carry. "We're…well, I guess you can call it a hideout for vampires. You don't remember coming here? You were awake most of the time, until we came inside. The darkness must have scared you, along with the screams, of course, because your heartbeat quickened dramatically."

_That wasn't a dream. Oh man, those screams were real? _"You bring people here and kill them? What the hell, why did you bring me here?"

He noticed the slight quivering in my voice and took a step forward. I fell back involuntarily, trying to keep some distance between him and me. Scared shitless didn't even _describe _how I felt right now. I always knew I'd end up traumatized sooner or later, and now that I'd relived those screams, the ones that had literally haunted my dreams for months, I knew I was. _Crap_, I had no self-control over my own body. It was quivering like crazy, and I couldn't stop.

He tried coming near me again, and this time I couldn't stop him. I didn't even realize he had moved until I felt a pair of cold arms wrap around me. I almost pull away, but instead I leaned into him, gripping his shirt tightly. I wanted to stop the tears running down my cheeks; those stupid, _betraying _tears. It didn't really help that he was as cold as an ice cube. The strange thing was, his skin was cold, but at the same time, it felt warm. It made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end.

Finally, after what felt like forever to me, I managed to speak, "You put me to sleep, didn't you. I hate it when you vampires do that."

I felt his body move slightly as he chuckled and whispered in my ear, "Like I said before, you were shivering uncontrollably. It was the screams that scared you, wasn't it?" His breath was warm against my skin. It was weird; I'd never been this close to a vampire before. I knew their skin was cold, but I didn't know that their breath was _warm_; like a _human's_. I was too mad last night when he kissed me to notice.

Remembering the kiss he stole from me, I pushed him away, and he stood up. I sighed inwardly; there was _no way _that my strength could compare to his. Even if I'd pushed him with all my strength, I wouldn't have been able to move him at all. I guess he didn't want me to be uncomfortable. I was fine with that; at least I'd be able to…_enjoy _the time I still had left to live.

My eyes glazed over. _If I died, I wouldn't be able to protect them anymore…_

I never answered his question, so he asked again. I sighed. "Yes, _Uchiha_, the screams scare me. And it's all your damn _fault_! Every single vampire's _fault_!"

"I know," he said it so quickly it startled me. He _knew_? What the hell did he know about _fear_? Knowing that, any day, you could die. Or worse, turn into a creature and _kill _the people you once loved. He was a vampire; all he had to do was sit back and have the lesser creatures take care of his business. No terror in that.

"What do _you _know about fear? It's not like you have to live every day of your life knowing that you could die at any given moment. Knowing that-"

"Even if you don't believe me, I understand what you mean." His eyes were closed, his face hidden behind his hand. He wasn't looking at me. Maybe this was his way of calming down? "Now, tell me why it bothers _you_."

"Why _wouldn't _it bother me? When the creatures first appeared, that's when it started. It was like people had gone insane, so many people _killing _each other. And all I could do was fight to stay alive, to keep my _friends _alive. I had to kill people I knew, people I _cared _about. Friends, teachers, even my own _family_. Can you imagine how that feels, to have to rip their heads off, just so you could survive? Everywhere I looked, I saw blood. Even body pieces just lying around. It went on for days, and every one of those days I saw someone die. I heard their screams. Their blood-curling _screams_." By now I was talking fast, the horrifying moments of my life that I had never shared with anyone, all coming out before I could stop them. My eyes burned, the tears welling up, and I was furious at myself. _How much more pathetic was I going to get?_

Another tear was trying to make it's way down my cheek, but he wiped it away. He was kneeling on one knee, his hand resting on his leg, the other still on my face. I knew that if I spoke again I'd start crying, so I whispered instead, "It was _terrifying_." For the second time that day, I didn't mind his touch. It was _soothing_, and even if I hated vampires, Uchiha was different somehow. _At least he hadn't killed me yet…_

He opened his mouth to say something, but a small noise caught his attention, and he stood up. His expression was unreadable when someone came out of the shadows and kneeled down. This someone looked _terrible_. His clothes had blood stains all over it, some dry, and some fresh. His face was dirty, and blood was drying on his chin. The stench that emitted from him made me want to gag. "Sasuke-sama, your brother wishes to know if you-" He stopped talking and sniffed once, his head turning to look at me. He grinned at Uchiha. His teeth were _rotting_. _What kind of place __**was **__this?_ "Still have one more to finish? Where did you find her? Such nice skin-" He was in front of me before I knew it, reaching out to touch me. Just as he'd reached out, Uchiha was gripping his arm tightly, so tight I thought he'd rip it right off.

"Touch her again, and you're dead." With those words said, Uchiha released him.

But the guy wasn't done talking yet. He grinned again. "Ah, come on, can't you share? I'll only take a little-" His hand was an inch away from my face before I heard him scream in pain. Uchiha, er, _Sasuke _had the other guy's arm behind his back, twisting it in a painful way. "S-Sasuke-sama, forgive me! I-I was only-"

"I warned you; if you touched her, I'd kill you." His voice was dark, menacing. The force of it sent a shiver down my back.

Before he could say anything else, a chuckle came from the dark, and a man slowly walked forward. Stopping a few feet from us, he chuckled again. "My, my, little brother. Killing another one, are we? What did he do?"

Sasuke had already let go of the other guy, focusing on the guy who'd called him brother. They really did look alike; the same cold eyes, same hair color, and even their _aura _was the same. The menacing look on their faces seemed almost like a mirror-image. "What're you doing here, Itachi?"

Itachi was wearing a long black cloak, his arms hidden behind it. His long hair was pulled back into a loose ponytail, a few loose pieces framing his face. "I sent him to ask you something, but he was taking _forever_, so I decided to come myself, see what was taking him so long." I guessed he wasn't very patient; it hadn't even been five minutes since the other guy got here.

"Itachi-sama, forgive me. But-"

Itachi cut him off by saying, "I wasn't talking to _you_. Go back to your chamber; I'll deal with you later." Once the other guy had left, he continued, "I've never seen you like this. So protective of a _human_." His eyes drifted over to me, where I was still half sitting-half crouched on the floor. I wanted to stand up, but his gaze locked me in place, and I felt an invisible force pulling me back down. "Never mind, what are you doing with something like _her_? Half human, half creature. She doesn't even have full power yet. Brother, what is the matter with you?"

I was trying to stand up again, but he wouldn't let me. Very few vampires possessed anything like this, and the few that did were considered some of the most powerful. All they had to do was glance at you, and they had complete control of your body. No way _in hell _was I going to let him control me.

A low growl from Sasuke made Itachi look back at him. "Sasuke, stop acting so _childish_. I'm not going to hurt her." I blinked, and he was right in front of me, kneeling down. His hand reached for my face, holding me so I would look at him. "What, do you want to _do _her, Sasuke? I admit, she's a pretty one, but for that kind of thing, you should've chosen one of ours."

Sasuke growled, but didn't move from his spot a few feet away from me. He was clenching and unclenching his hands, trying to keep his anger in check. "Don't—"

Itachi seemed to enjoy seeing his brother like this, and he leaned forward. I could feel his breath on my neck, and it sent shivers down my back. "Let me _go_." The three words I'd been trying to say finally came out, barely above a whisper. He smirked, leaning in closer, his lips pressed against my neck. I couldn't do _anything _to get away; I didn't _want _him to bite me. _I'm not this fucking weak!_

He opened his mouth, and I felt two small pointy objects barely touch the surface of my skin. His _fangs_. But that was all I felt, because the second he'd protruded his teeth, Sasuke had him pinned against the wall. He tightened his grip on his brother's neck, and Itachi smirked. "Wow, this is the first time you've ever stopped me from drinking from one of your girls, Sasuke."

Sasuke gripped his neck even tighter, growling again.

"I was only going to bite her a little. Is she really that important to you? A half-breed like her? This is so unlike you." His smirk grew wider, baring his teeth at Sasuke. "Have you fallen for something like _her_, Sasuke?"

"_Shut up_."

"I already told you how to deal with these kinds of things. Kill her; it's as simple as that."

"I said _shut up_!" The wall exploded, a loud cracking sound coming from it. There was dust everywhere, but when it cleared up, both Sasuke and Itachi were no where in sight. The wall was destroyed, a big section of it caved in. I sucked in a quick breath. With one of _those _punches, it'd be easy to smash someone's face in.

I thought Itachi and Sasuke were gone, but I was wrong. They had only moved a few feet to the right, away from the now-destroyed section of wall. Itachi's smirk had disappeared, replaced with a more serious look. "No need to worry, little brother; I'll be leaving tonight. We'll take care of this when I return." He disappeared then, the only noise coming from Sasuke. He was breathing hard, trying to calm himself.

I could move again, so I stood up slowly. My knees were weak; Itachi had used too much force when he was keeping me down. I tried taking a step forward, but my knees buckled from underneath me, and I fell down.

Sasuke caught me before I could hit the ground. I put my hands on his chest to stand up again, but he tightened his grip on my arms, keeping me in place. The cave was deadly silent, except for a small thumping noise that I first thought was my heart-beat. But it wasn't; it was _Sasuke's _heart. Even though he was furious right now, his heart beat slower than a human's. _It makes him feel…almost normal._

I don't know how long we stayed like this; Sasuke had one of his arms wrapped around my waist, the other through my hair, his head hidden in my neck. All I could do was let him hold me, my head resting on his chest. If I tried to get away, would he use his strength on me? _Probably._

It's just so…_strange _for a vampire to act like this. I'd never seen one like him. Can vampires still possess feelings like humans can? _Even if they could, it's __**still **__weird._

Wondering if I should ask him to let me go, a scream comes from another part of the cave; it was far away, but still loud enough for me to hear. Those same screams from when I first came here. I could hear my heart pounding madly in my ears, and my breathing became ragged. Sasuke moved his face closer, leaning in to whisper in my ear. By the time I could make sense of his words, my eyes had closed, and I mumbled, "You're putting me to sleep again."

I heard him chuckle, before my body relaxed, my mind slipping into darkness.


	4. uncertainty

Chapter Four  
_uncertainty_

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My life wasn't always like this. I used to have friends who I hung out with after a mission, a family who I would laugh with at the dinner table. I used to dream about what I wanted to do with my life when I grew older; sometimes I'd even wonder what it would be like to be married.

The worst thing, back then, that I thought would ever happen was that I'd end up messing up a mission. It was the worst thing that could happen to me.

It'd been a long time since I last thought about myself. The villagers were some of the few _normal _humans left, and we had to keep them alive.

It didn't matter if I died. As long as I could protect them.

But, really, they keep dying every day. There's nothing we can do to stop it from happening.

How long will it be until the last one dies?

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Staring at the floor in front of me, I sighed out, "I still don't understand why you want to keep me here. I need to get back to the village; the villagers need me."

After waking up earlier today, all I had been doing was trying to think of a way to escape. But, of course, there wasn't an easy way out. I'd have to pass dozens of these creatures. So instead of trying to attempt a suicidal escape, I just sat in the same spot where Sasuke had put me, waiting to see what would happen next. If the creatures really _did _possess feelings like humans did, then there was a slight chance that I'd be able to get Sasuke to let me go.

Sasuke wasn't exactly in my line of vision. He was somewhere else inside this large hideout, probably talking to some other creatures, but I knew he could hear me.

Sure enough, as soon as I started speaking, he appeared from out of the shadows, almost too quickly for me to see. I was starting to get used to his quick movements; my eyes could almost read the way he moved. Was this because I was getting used to it? Or was it because of what Itachi had said before? That I didn't have 'full power' yet?

"You're awake."

I almost rolled my eyes. "I realize that."

He smirked at me. _Bastard_. Who the heck did he think he was talking to?

I was still sitting on the 'bed' that I had been sleeping in. He kneeled down with one graceful movement, leaning forward to bring his face close to mine. "You're really feisty, did you know that?" My reply was muffled by his lips crashing against mine, and I could feel my body shiver at the mix of hot and cold that came from it. I was more surprised when I felt myself relax against him, the only thought running through my mind being that I wanted him closer. _What the…hell?_

He pulled back and chuckled when I tried to get closer to him. "I forgot what a kiss does to humans. Are you alright?"

My mind was working overdrive. I could barely make out what he was saying. Something about a kiss affecting humans. _Oh… _I'd heard about it from Gaara. A vampire's kiss could bring out desire in a human. I should've realized that as soon as I felt myself giving in. My head cleared up, and I felt my cheeks burn. "You _asshole_. What gives you the right to kiss me?"

Sasuke smirked. "You're _mine_, Sakura. I don't need a reason."

I was about to start yelling at him, when I realized that I was still pressed tightly against his body; my hands still tangled in his hair.

I tried to push myself away form him, but he didn't even budge. Seriously, what was the point? It was like trying to move a mountain with my bare hands.

The only response I got from trying to pull away was even worse. He put me down on the 'bed' slowly, making sure I wouldn't be able to get away by pressing down on me with his body. It was that same mixture of hot and cold; his breath on my face made me shiver.

"What the _hell_? Am I just some _toy _you want to play with? Why don't you just do what your brother said; go fuck one of your own kind. I'm sure they'd _love _to!" I pushed at his chest again, knowing perfectly well that he wouldn't budge.

His next words really surprised me. "You're not just some toy, Sakura. You're—…I just don't want you to _die_." He sighed against my neck, making a shiver run down my back.

I should have pushed him away. I should have been mad at him for thinking that I was too weak to protect myself. I should have been _furious _that he took me away from my village when they needed me the most. I should have laughed at what he said, because vampires _don't have feelings_.

So why was it that I felt nothing but sadness?

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**.**

He left without saying anything else.

I sat there, wondering why I'd been so calm about him holding me like that. Was I…was I starting to grow _fond _of him? Just because he hadn't killed me, like any of the other creatures would have already done?

I could feel my heart pounding in my head. I needed to get out of this place. If I didn't, I might even end up sympathizing with him.

How long had it been since I'd been brought here? Days? I really couldn't tell. It was always dark in this place, except for the fire that burned on the other side of the cave-room I was in.

Being in this place was driving me crazy.

I was even beginning to wonder when he'd come back. What the hell was wrong with me? He'd probably killed so many people; people that hadn't done anything except become victims of the blood-sucking creatures. Killing for no reason other than to satisfy their need was unforgivable; I had to kill him. Make him pay for everything he'd done.

But how was I supposed to do that? It was obvious he could easily snap my neck in half if he wanted to. For now, he didn't want me to die; would he change his mind if he knew I wanted to kill him?

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He came back just as the fire was starting to burn out.

I almost puked when he came in.

The stench of blood was all over his body, though I couldn't see any visible drop of blood on his clothing.

I pressed my body against the wall, hoping that he wouldn't come any closer; I couldn't stand that smell any longer. It was horrifying. A part of me, the human part, couldn't stand the smell, and I felt vomit rise in my throat. The other part, the part that scared me so much I thought I'd start hyperventilating again if he got any closer to me, actually liked the smell. _Wanted _it.

I turned to the side and puked, my body wrenching with every gasping breath I tried to take. I could feel Sasuke appear behind me, his voice sounding far away as he asked what was wrong with me.

I couldn't speak. The only thing I wanted to do was _get away from him_. From the smell that would turn me into something I hated. _Why was this happening_? I'd never craved it; why was this happening _now_?

"Get _away from me_!" I jerked away from him, feeling my head throbbing as I tried to take a step away from him. Away from the smell.

He was just like those creatures; even if he could think on his own, he still killed people. He still drank blood.

_Blood_.

His hands went around my wrists, and he tightened his grip when I started to yell again.

The last thing I remember was the look on his face, the look that shouldn't have been there.

The look of utter helplessness.

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**.**

"…might be bringing out the wild creature in her, Sasuke-sama. You should kill her before she completely loses her mind."

_Kill…me? _

_Why?_

My eyes felt heavy. I could feel someone standing over me, probably staring at my face. There was someone else in the room, although I'd never felt her presence before, so I didn't know who it was.

Something wet slowly slid past my ear; was I crying?

I should be. I didn't know what was wrong with me. I didn't know _anything _anymore.

The person standing over me slowly leaned forward, and I recognized his voice as soon as he spoke. "Sakura? Are you awake?"

I couldn't open my mouth to say yes; my throat felt dry. I felt thirsty; _why was I thirsty_? I could go _weeks _without having to eat or drink anything, so why did it feel like I had never had anything to drink in my life?

"You should be prepared, Sasuke-sama. She might not be in her right mind anymore. If she were to attack you…"

_What…? Why would I do __**that**__?_

It took most of my strength to open my eyes. Sasuke stared down at me. I opened my mouth to say something, but a sickening feeling reached my throat and I leaned over whatever I was laying on and coughed violently.

"Sakura!"

Sasuke grabbed me before I could fall off, and I was aware of the fact that he was trying to be gentle even as I pushed him away from me.

Looking down at my hands, I gasped. They were covered in blood. _My _blood. I licked my lips, and the taste of my own blood registered in my mind. I'd coughed up _blood_.

The person standing a few feet away from us sighed, then shook her head, probably in dissaproval. Even though I was half-aware of my surroundings, I could tell that she was frighteningly beautiful. Her hair was pulled back into a high ponytail, her eyes the color of fire. She didn't look too happy to see me receiving all of Sasuke's attention. Pushing her glasses up higher on her nose, she sighed.

"What…what's going on…?" My throat burned; my voice sounded like I hadn't used it my whole life. "What's wrong with me?"

Sasuke put his hand under my chin, lifting my head up so I was looking him in the eyes. "You're not yourself right now, Sakura. You're…just really hungry." He stared at me for a while, probably waiting for me to say something. When I didn't, he brought his face closer to mine and licked the blood at the corner of my lips. Bringing my face to his neck, he told me to drink.

I should have been scared out of my mind. But at the moment, all I could think about was the hunger that gnawed at my stomach.

"Sakura…" His voice sounded almost desperate. Was he worried about me?

Licking his neck, I felt my whole body shiver.

I _needed _this.

My tears mixed in with his blood as I forgot about everything else, even the beautiful lady protesting on the other side of the room.

_What the hell was wrong with me?_

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**A/N: **Finally had the time to revise this story! I'm hoping I'll be able to update soon enough!


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